The No. 6 Oregon Ducks beat the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers 28-27 in Wednesday’s Rose Bowl, but a crucial component of that came from a controversial offensive pass interference call late in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin trailed 28-27 with 3:56 left, but had the ball at their own 24. After an incomplete pass and a four-yard run from Jonathan Taylor, that left them facing third and six with just over three minutes left. The Badgers converted that on a Jack Coan pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, but receiver Danny Davis III was called for offensive pass interference:
This was offensive pass interference pic.twitter.com/MCVF7GZV4B
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 2, 2020
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was not happy:
Official statement from Paul Chryst: “That’s a big ass call that you just got wrong”. #RoseBowl #Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/qZBl0ZsApn
— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) January 2, 2020
Following that, Coan threw incomplete on third and 20, and the Badgers then punted. Oregon then sealed the game by picking up two first downs, the first on a pass from Justin Herbert to Mycah Pittman and the second on a Herbert pass to Juwan Johnson:
Juwan Johnson with the dagger…🤭🤭🤭
28-yard catch and run…💨💨💨#Oregon #Wisconsin #Ducks #Badgers #RoseBowl
https://t.co/KBAGROSZ17— CJR Sports (@Sports_CJR) January 2, 2020
Of course, the one play didn’t necessarily decide this. Even if Wisconsin had converted that first down, they still might not have scored, and if they had scored, Oregon still might have been able to score again. And if the Badgers’ defense had been able to stop the Ducks, they still might have had a chance even after this play. And there were some plays in this game that perhaps loomed even larger, such as the Wisconsin punt attempt dropped and returned for a touchdown:
#RoseBowl 11:58 3Q – Oregon 21, Wisconsin 17 – Badgers fumble away on a punt and the Ducks' Brady Breeze snags it and returns the #ScoopNScore 30 yards to put the Ducks ahead. pic.twitter.com/C6VsAPlsQy
— JoeySportsBall (@JoeyHashtag) January 2, 2020
But on the day, Oregon finished with just 138 passing yards and 81 rushing yards, so turnovers and controversial calls were certainly a big part of their victory. And with that offensive pass interference call coming at such a crucial part of the game, it’s likely to be widely discussed in the days ahead.
[ESPN
